I will always cry at this scene as it sums up so sweetly what a crime war is. It robs people of so many things - time, love, hope, the future. The scene also balances so intimately the beginning when Jaime as the soloist in his choir; and a the end he is lost in a cacophony of lost voices. Only his mother recognizes him for what he is. Her baby boy. Damn, losing it again. Sorry, this scene is very tough for me.
I was 10 when my parents divorced feels the same way as you described. Except you never got to go home ever again as your home no longer exists. Hard a 10yr old kid. I remember getting upset lot and when asked what was wrong I'd say I wanted to go home but no one understood what I meant and I was way to young to explain it.
Exactly, this film deserves so much more credit and succes than it got. It's one of my favorite films. When I first saw it, I wasn't a whole lot older than Jamie in the movie. I recognized my brother in him, a go getter and passionate about planes and pilotes. Maybe that's why I loved the movie at first. As I got older I saw so many more layers in this story. It's a diamond in the rough.
@@davidd4696 maybe, but it did not get the recognition or box-office succes it deserved. Most people I know never heard of this film. I recommend it to all of them, and once they saw it they are enthusiastic about it.
Agreed. If Anna Paquin got the Oscar Award for "The Piano," then Christian Bale should also get one for this role. Yet, they didn't even nominated him. I think that it's because if they nominated him for the Oscar Award, it must be in the Best Actor category. With that in mind, no child actors or actresses never won Oscar Award for Best Actor and Best Actress roles. Anna Paquin got hers for Best Supporting Actress just like Tatum O'Neal despite the fact that Tatum O'Neal's role in the "Paper Moon" was pretty much the lead role and not the support role.
@rsstenger5113 I remember when Quanzihave Wallis, who starred in Beasts of the Southern Wild (who at the age of 9 was the youngest Best Actress nominee EVER) was beaten by Jennifer Lawrence for the Academy Award, I was upset because Ms. Wallis should have won, hands down.
JG Ballard (the author of the book) wrote it in the 3rd person, even though it was the story of his own experiences during WW2. I've always wondered if he did that because of his own PTSD (get a bit of distance from the painful story rather than use 1st person).
And then, finall, safe in his mother's arms, his eyes can get some much deserved rest. That's what I always felt, finally he could get his guard down, and be a child again.
After all he has seen and lived through, he finally stops 'thinking so much' and closes his eyes on it all. The whole story seems to be balanced out in one perfect moment.
The song being sung here is a Welsh lullaby, in English it reads; “Sleep my darling, on my bosom, Harm will never come to you; Mother's arms enfold you safely, Mother's heart is ever true. As you sleep there's naught to scare you, Naught to wake you from your rest; Close those eyelids, little angel, Sleep upon your mother's breast.” This is beautifully paired with the over the shoulder perspective of Jim’s mother as she holds him to his chest, we look directly into his weary eyes as he peacefully closes them. So well done!
@@OEllsworth And it was arranged and directed by John McCarthy, as John Williams didn't start yet I believe. I believe McCarthy makes a cameo in the opening church scene too.
The greater elegance of this scene lies in the fact that it is a reprise of Jim's singing in farewell and salute to the Japanese Kamikaze pilots shortly before they took off. Time stands still as various characters, of both sides, are shown pausing to listen when he delivers Suo Gan to (or for) boys little older than himself in the hour of their death. He sings it over their cries of 'Banzai'. It is a petty victory over the Japanese that something so beautiful should transcend the privations and hardship of internment (and people in those situations survive on petty victories). This final scene is not simply about the reunion with his mother. It is about a depleted human being nevertheless winning the lottery of life and it is also about a triumph of the human spirit that he should have come through.
@@jonathanlewis453also the opening scene is with open suitcases and corpses floating by in the water. It shows things are in transition and on the move in a negative way. The ending is his suitcase floating away. I believe it's closed. Showing another transition and a closing of a chapter of his life.
30 years later....still hard to watch this final scene without losing it. One of the most overlooked movies of my lifetime. Ive never been the biggest Christian Bale fan, but this movie should go down as one of the greatest child acting roles in history.
I cry every time I see this scene. Can’t help it: the song starts up and I’m off. I always hear his voice breaking when he talks about how he can’t remember what his mother looked like, and his hesitation when he says she had dark hair. I saw this movie soon after it first came out and thought this Christian Bale kid was going to be one to watch….
One of the most moving scenes ever and it still amazes me how all three managed not to overact it. Mother slightly trembling, trying desperately not to break down, the father on the brink of tears filled with guilt, and Jamie like a war veteran with a thousand-yard stare, beyond having any tears left. Just absolutely brilliant and real.
Ithinkimight be abit harsh ..i wa crying after allmyself..I really meant that their livesstyle nchinahad beenself serving and vacuous ..yes that's better
My aunt, after watching this movie all those decades ago, told me I had to watch it. She told me, whoever that kid was starring in it, would be a star one day. And she was right. Empire of the Sun, from start to rolling credits, is a spectacular roller coaster of triumph and war through the eyes of a child like nothing else.
Jim is damaged and traumatized and his parents sense it. They don;t all go leaping into each other's arms like a happy ending. When he touches her lip it is so touching, awkward, and sad at the same time.
I cry every single time! This beautiful track was played at my mum’s funeral as this was one of her favourite films. It’s been 10yrs and I forever miss her - really wish she could have met my beautiful wife! Anyway, sorry for being a killjoy folks! This movie is incredible 💙
Every time I watch him close his eyes, all I can imagine him thinking is "Now I can rest", because he's back in the arms of his mother. #makesmeballeverytime
I almost died when my son was a 3 month old. I asked my mother to take him. I got through it and survived, and when I went to my mother's to see my baby boy, he was sad. A sad empty baby just left alone and untouched. I remember looking into his eyes, and the change in them when he reconized me. I held him and hugged him. I never let him go again. I recall this scene later as much the same thing.
I was separated from my baby girl once accused of things I'd never done. Worst time of my life but I fought hard and won. I'll never forget seeing her again for the first time in many months. The way she looked at me and said "hey" with pain in her voice God it like to have killed me. She laid down on my chest and every so often would look up at me and smile. She's 28 and married now but we are still so very close. God thank you for leading me and guiding me back then and now.
I’ve seen it as a kid and now,almost 40 years old its even harder for me to watch this masterpiece without tears. I am going home in August…after four years not being home ,finally i will hug my parents and brother 😢😢😢 .
It’s the timing of the surging high note in Suo Gân with the revelation of his mother’s dark hair as Jim pulls her hat off - a feature of hers that was seared in his memory (“ She had dark hair”) and confirms to him that it’s really her. Gets me every time.
You can see it in his eyes that he doesn't believe that these two are his real parents. Yes he may go back with them and live with them, but in his mind he believes that his parents died in a robbery gone wrong while leaving a theatre.
Fantastically beautiful Spielberg movie that deserved a lot more recognition and box-office success than it got. This scène always makes me sob. Soooo beautiful with the music. Poor Jamie/Jim
This scene has always been the most emotionally powerful I've ever witnessed in my lifetime. Its done with such restraint, no words necessary, a boy utterly changed by war and the desperate need to survive. Whilst there's the joy and beauty of a family being reunited you know that there is so much more under the surface that's ahead of them
The first time I saw this l didn’t quite get it, it seemed anti-climatic, but then I found the English translation of the Welsh lullaby that comes into the scene when his mother spots him and he slowly realise’s who she is and sinks into her arms. The song is a mother telling her child, don’t worry you are safe in my arms. Jim ends the film safe in his mother’s arms, the perfect ending and one that breaks me up every time.
Never noticed it before, but notice the difference between how dark and shadowed his eyes are when he is alone and staring vacantly, and compare that to when he is hugging his mother.
he could've but, he's shown us so much more, we all should continue to be grateful for how he's has grown as a man and in his craft. he is a remarkable human,
First watched the film several weeks ago, couldn't stop crying when I went to bed (with this heartbreaking scene in mind). The lack of emotion in poor Jamie/Jim, initially not recognising his parents after years of separation and war. But the part which deeply affected me the most was when he finally embraced his mother in a tight hug, as Suo Gân reprised in the background. A bittersweet, comforting ending that will forever make me shed some tears. 😢
I remember this scene so much from my childhood. I remember feeling the power of it then, and watching it now 30 years later I still cry over it. Such a beautiful scene, so sad, so powerful.
I always cry when I see this scene, but at the same time it makes me angry to see poor Jim so traumatized by the war, the hunger, the suffering and the parents so perfectly dressed and groomed as if nothing had happened.
Not their fault. They probably just got evacuated and taken to somewhere where the bombs didn't fall. And with them being rich and safe it makes sense for them to look unscathed.
@@romanov3937 I agree, it's best to show up looking exactly how they always looked. If you want your kid to recognize you in public, then you should definitely make sure you are as recognizable as possible...and if you were recognizably wealthy & well off before, then you will show up still looking recognizably well off. I know that if I ran that lost & found orphanage, I'd tell everyone to arrive looking like how they always looked in front of their kid: Present themselves to the children in identical fashion to how they present in their child's own memory of them. (Same outfit/attire as always, same make up, same hair color, length & style, etc.) (Smells are great at jogging memories too, so if they have any kind of expensive perfume they used to wear, definitely put on lots of that as well!) (Side Bonus: Dressing up all fancy would also help the parents stand out from all the other attending adults who can't afford to dress up super nice.)
Try The Color Purple. If you can keep your eyes dry in the end, and when the sisters got separated....wow. well, I'm glad it makes me cry every time I see it
There is a scene in the tv movie Entrusted where the boy runs up to his mother in a car and suddenly the car explodes due to gunfire in the middle of his trek....gets me everytime too.
This movie came out in the same year as The Last Emperor, which swept the Oscars, and undeservedly, in my opinion. Empire of the Sun was a better film in every way. But at the time, it was "cool" to not like Spielberg.
The Last Emperor was a magnificent film and deserved all of its accolades. I love Empire of the Sun, too but I don't see the need to detract from one film in order to praise another.
He was separated from his parent for over two years. He’s not going to look the same nor after two years will you recognize someone immediately. You’d be surprised how easily we forget what people look like. Especially children who grow and change quickly. He didn’t even recognize his own parents until his mom called out his name several times. This is what war will do to you.
I was a little kid when I saw this movie, it was always in my memories, today having two boys, this scene has another meaning, I can imagine the terrible pain of that parents, losing their children for years. Mother's love is Mother's love. ❤
I feel the same as a parent now. I knew it was powerful when I was a kid first watching it, but now, with my own kids, I think this is a beautiful expression of a mothers love especially. The dad is restrained, but clearly concerned. The mother just wants to hold her baby again. Any loving parent will feel the raw emotion of this scene.
Bales level of acting in this film surpasses all adult acting I have ever seen. It’s quite simply one of the greatest performances ever. And it’s Spielbergs best work ever. People don’t know about it because it’s not something many cared about - the far east during World War Two and specifically the British colonies.
Most people do. It must be terrible for those that were abused or had a bad relationship with their Mother. I can't imagine how difficult that is to live with.
An emotional rollercoaster of a movie...the acting on a whole other level! The word brilliant just doesn't seem adequate. Visually stunning as well. This ending scene...the horrors we know he has witnessed... the look on his face when he sees his Mother... not believing she is real until he touches her... his eyes closing the moment he rests his head against her... it's all real...he's safe now!
Hands down one of the best endings in a movie for me! As a parent I can't begin to imagine where I would start to rebuild with my son after an ordeal like this!
I remember watching this film numerous times as a kid with my mum. For some reason the music randomly popped into my head so youtubed the final scene which has now resulted in tears
This film did not use to hit me in the gut, but it has now, this ending, when he is reunited with his parents again, i guess everything we have all stuffed in the last 12 months, got to me a little.
Jim got the happy ending he deserved. I got a headcanon post-ending for this, as an adult, Jim dedicates himself to help the less fortunate and victims of war, so that what happens to him, will not happen to anyone else.
I am a pilot. ive been flying since i was about 12. in the scene where we hugs the Japanese aircraft. it gets me because i did the same thing when i was a kid. i love aviation so much. that scene got me to the core. Thank you, Mr. Spielberg!
Watched this film several times years ago, recently read the book and I have to say the film is much better than the book....Once again well done Steven Speilsberg
The close up of Jim’s eyes closing were as Spielberg described as “the eyes of an old man.” Even though he’s reunited with his family, he won’t remain with them for long.
I was born in 83. I remember this came on TV, would’ve been around 1990. Had no idea what it was but was transfixed to the telly for the entire duration. Being only 6 or 7 years old, this was undoubtedly the first real, proper film I ever watched. I haven’t seen it since I was a teenager in the late nineties or very early 2000s, and to be honest it’ll stay that way. Rather just have the memory watching it as a kid. Wouldn’t be the same if I sat & watched it today, nothing is.
I saw this again 2 months ago and I just cried at the ending. I rarely get emotional but this scene just hit me hard. It's still a brilliant movie and Christian Bale is one of my favourite actors.
I will always cry at this scene as it sums up so sweetly what a crime war is. It robs people of so many things - time, love, hope, the future. The scene also balances so intimately the beginning when Jaime as the soloist in his choir; and a the end he is lost in a cacophony of lost voices. Only his mother recognizes him for what he is. Her baby boy. Damn, losing it again. Sorry, this scene is very tough for me.
You have nothing to be sorry for. It is a very emotional scene.
I’ve watched this movie countless times n yet I always end up crying 😭
I was 10 when my parents divorced feels the same way as you described. Except you never got to go home ever again as your home no longer exists. Hard a 10yr old kid. I remember getting upset lot and when asked what was wrong I'd say I wanted to go home but no one understood what I meant and I was way to young to explain it.
War is great, just so long as you live decades after the fact and get all the sweet games and movies based on it. C'mon man.
Not the only one... This scene plus the music..
Criminally underrated film. Little did we know what a powerhouse in the acting world Bale would become. But the huge talent was clearly there
powerwhat? are you gay?
movie is highly rated.
"criminally underrated"???? Seriously, some of you guys should stop using those overused phrases until you really understand their meaning.
Exactly, this film deserves so much more credit and succes than it got. It's one of my favorite films. When I first saw it, I wasn't a whole lot older than Jamie in the movie. I recognized my brother in him, a go getter and passionate about planes and pilotes. Maybe that's why I loved the movie at first. As I got older I saw so many more layers in this story. It's a diamond in the rough.
@@davidd4696 maybe, but it did not get the recognition or box-office succes it deserved. Most people I know never heard of this film. I recommend it to all of them, and once they saw it they are enthusiastic about it.
Christian Bale should have won an oscar for this.
Agreed. If Anna Paquin got the Oscar Award for "The Piano," then Christian Bale should also get one for this role. Yet, they didn't even nominated him. I think that it's because if they nominated him for the Oscar Award, it must be in the Best Actor category. With that in mind, no child actors or actresses never won Oscar Award for Best Actor and Best Actress roles. Anna Paquin got hers for Best Supporting Actress just like Tatum O'Neal despite the fact that Tatum O'Neal's role in the "Paper Moon" was pretty much the lead role and not the support role.
@rsstenger5113 I remember when Quanzihave Wallis, who starred in Beasts of the Southern Wild (who at the age of 9 was the youngest Best Actress nominee EVER) was beaten by Jennifer Lawrence for the Academy Award, I was upset because Ms. Wallis should have won, hands down.
Absolutely 😅🎉
Indeedhe should
He did.
In MY eyes.
Awards, oscars are bs.
Just like tom berenger in platoon.
They BOTH won.
End of story.
Everytime I see this scene….i just cry. The total change of their son, the serious PTSD this kid shows. I was blown away with his acting.
JG Ballard (the author of the book) wrote it in the 3rd person, even though it was the story of his own experiences during WW2. I've always wondered if he did that because of his own PTSD (get a bit of distance from the painful story rather than use 1st person).
His eyes saw war,
Those eyes saw hunger, dead, Injustice, Violence, blood, The Atomic bomb, a friend die, those Eyes saw his own Innocence Vanish.....
Great scene!!
That's why he's Batman
The book was amazing. It was autobiographical
And then, finall, safe in his mother's arms, his eyes can get some much deserved rest. That's what I always felt, finally he could get his guard down, and be a child again.
@@johnpaullaxa5486 justice 🗿
After all he has seen and lived through, he finally stops 'thinking so much' and closes his eyes on it all. The whole story seems to be balanced out in one perfect moment.
The song being sung here is a Welsh lullaby, in English it reads;
“Sleep my darling, on my bosom,
Harm will never come to you;
Mother's arms enfold you safely,
Mother's heart is ever true.
As you sleep there's naught to scare you,
Naught to wake you from your rest;
Close those eyelids, little angel,
Sleep upon your mother's breast.”
This is beautifully paired with the over the shoulder perspective of Jim’s mother as she holds him to his chest, we look directly into his weary eyes as he peacefully closes them.
So well done!
The voice is that of James Rainbird, famous boy treble.
@@OEllsworth And it was arranged and directed by John McCarthy, as John Williams didn't start yet I believe. I believe McCarthy makes a cameo in the opening church scene too.
The greater elegance of this scene lies in the fact that it is a reprise of Jim's singing in farewell and salute to the Japanese Kamikaze pilots shortly before they took off. Time stands still as various characters, of both sides, are shown pausing to listen when he delivers Suo Gan to (or for) boys little older than himself in the hour of their death. He sings it over their cries of 'Banzai'. It is a petty victory over the Japanese that something so beautiful should transcend the privations and hardship of internment (and people in those situations survive on petty victories). This final scene is not simply about the reunion with his mother. It is about a depleted human being nevertheless winning the lottery of life and it is also about a triumph of the human spirit that he should have come through.
Thank you
@@jonathanlewis453also the opening scene is with open suitcases and corpses floating by in the water. It shows things are in transition and on the move in a negative way. The ending is his suitcase floating away. I believe it's closed. Showing another transition and a closing of a chapter of his life.
30 years later....still hard to watch this final scene without losing it. One of the most overlooked movies of my lifetime.
Ive never been the biggest Christian Bale fan, but this movie should go down as one of the greatest child acting roles in history.
Überkandidelt
Come on, Bale in "The Fighter" was magnificent.
Amazing how just a few minutes of this film can bring a lump to the throat and tears to the eyes.
I’ve never been able to look at this scene without crying all the tears of my body. 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢❤❤❤❤❤❤
Yes me too😢
You could buy the book. JG Ballard. Empire of the Sun. The author was interned as a schoolboy by the Japanese.
I never forget this film. We do not have this quality anymore
Amen
I cry every time I see this scene. Can’t help it: the song starts up and I’m off. I always hear his voice breaking when he talks about how he can’t remember what his mother looked like, and his hesitation when he says she had dark hair. I saw this movie soon after it first came out and thought this Christian Bale kid was going to be one to watch….
One of the most moving scenes ever and it still amazes me how all three managed not to overact it. Mother slightly trembling, trying desperately not to break down, the father on the brink of tears filled with guilt, and Jamie like a war veteran with a thousand-yard stare, beyond having any tears left. Just absolutely brilliant and real.
True..actually I thought both parents🖋️a bit various and entitled
They were merchants.. linen wasn't it ?
went to china to make money
Vacuous
Ithinkimight be abit harsh ..i wa crying after allmyself..I really meant that their livesstyle nchinahad beenself serving and vacuous ..yes that's better
@@lynniealexander7194 War does not discriminate.
After 30 years i still cry watching this scene
My aunt, after watching this movie all those decades ago, told me I had to watch it. She told me, whoever that kid was starring in it, would be a star one day. And she was right. Empire of the Sun, from start to rolling credits, is a spectacular roller coaster of triumph and war through the eyes of a child like nothing else.
Dear Lord, what a movie...
For years, he endured Hell and still managed to keep everything together, losing it only at the very end. Powerful scene.
this scene always brings tears to my eyes so powerful great film
One of best films ever made.
Jim is damaged and traumatized and his parents sense it. They don;t all go leaping into each other's arms like a happy ending. When he touches her lip it is so touching, awkward, and sad at the same time.
I cry every single time! This beautiful track was played at my mum’s funeral as this was one of her favourite films. It’s been 10yrs and I forever miss her - really wish she could have met my beautiful wife! Anyway, sorry for being a killjoy folks! This movie is incredible 💙
May your Mum Rest In Peace.
@@mariakelly90210 Thank you 🫶
Bale & Spielberg at their absolute finest.
Landed in my top-ten list as I left the theatre, and has remained there for 36 years.
This was one of those cinematic moments that is a beacon of Gen X’s childhood. We all cried at this song and this scene. ❤
Every time I watch him close his eyes, all I can imagine him thinking is "Now I can rest", because he's back in the arms of his mother. #makesmeballeverytime
The music was so beautiful and this movie was amazing. Jamie had to do what he had to do to survive. He did.
I almost died when my son was a 3 month old. I asked my mother to take him. I got through it and survived, and when I went to my mother's to see my baby boy, he was sad. A sad empty baby just left alone and untouched. I remember looking into his eyes, and the change in them when he reconized me. I held him and hugged him. I never let him go again. I recall this scene later as much the same thing.
I was separated from my baby girl once accused of things I'd never done. Worst time of my life but I fought hard and won. I'll never forget seeing her again for the first time in many months. The way she looked at me and said "hey" with pain in her voice God it like to have killed me. She laid down on my chest and every so often would look up at me and smile. She's 28 and married now but we are still so very close. God thank you for leading me and guiding me back then and now.
Excellent. Great movie. Great actor. Incredible story.
I’ve seen it as a kid and now,almost 40 years old its even harder for me to watch this masterpiece without tears.
I am going home in August…after four years not being home ,finally i will hug my parents and brother 😢😢😢 .
Gay
@@KekelMyShekel What I wouldn't give to have five minutes to make you eat that word....
@@KekelMyShekel Why are they letting 9 year olds comment here?
It’s the timing of the surging high note in Suo Gân with the revelation of his mother’s dark hair as Jim pulls her hat off - a feature of hers that was seared in his memory (“ She had dark hair”) and confirms to him that it’s really her. Gets me every time.
You can see it in his eyes that he doesn't believe that these two are his real parents. Yes he may go back with them and live with them, but in his mind he believes that his parents died in a robbery gone wrong while leaving a theatre.
😆
That ending was so unexpected haha 😂
Wow you had me in the first half ngl 😆
😆
Such an underrated comment 😂
Fantastically beautiful Spielberg movie that deserved a lot more recognition and box-office success than it got. This scène always makes me sob. Soooo beautiful with the music. Poor Jamie/Jim
This scene has always been the most emotionally powerful I've ever witnessed in my lifetime. Its done with such restraint, no words necessary, a boy utterly changed by war and the desperate need to survive. Whilst there's the joy and beauty of a family being reunited you know that there is so much more under the surface that's ahead of them
20 years ago, this was one of best films I had ever seen
Cried my eyes out in the last scene. I thought this child was an absolutely brilliant actor. Phenomenal!!
Spielberg is an absolute master. This scene is so moving, the loss of innocence, the love for his mother. So powerful.
Beautiful scene
This is my top 3 films, every scene is a master piece and this one is sublime
My mother died when I was 13 in 1981 and this scene affected me deeply at the time.
The first time I saw this l didn’t quite get it, it seemed anti-climatic, but then I found the English translation of the Welsh lullaby that comes into the scene when his mother spots him and he slowly realise’s who she is and sinks into her arms. The song is a mother telling her child, don’t worry you are safe in my arms.
Jim ends the film safe in his mother’s arms, the perfect ending and one that breaks me up every time.
Never noticed it before, but notice the difference between how dark and shadowed his eyes are when he is alone and staring vacantly, and compare that to when he is hugging his mother.
Still jerks a tear
Most underrated movie ever made. In its own category of underrated
Christian Bale should have had an Oscar nomination for his performance in this film.
hands down, he was amazing.
he could've but, he's shown us so much more, we all should continue to be grateful for how he's has grown as a man and in his craft. he is a remarkable human,
30 years later and I still love this scene
Absolutely beautiful and brilliant bit of screen play that as he hugs his mum he can finally close his eyes as he feels safe!
First watched the film several weeks ago, couldn't stop crying when I went to bed (with this heartbreaking scene in mind). The lack of emotion in poor Jamie/Jim, initially not recognising his parents after years of separation and war. But the part which deeply affected me the most was when he finally embraced his mother in a tight hug, as Suo Gân reprised in the background. A bittersweet, comforting ending that will forever make me shed some tears. 😢
Steven Spielberg, John William and Christian Bale, make Magic in this movie
Damn when his mother saw him I broke.
Holy Cow! I just watched this thinking what an incredible actor that boy was. And...it's Christian Bale!!!
Christian Bale deserved to, at least, run for the Oscars for this powerful role, if not win the award!! A mind-blowing film debut…
I remember this scene so much from my childhood. I remember feeling the power of it then, and watching it now 30 years later I still cry over it. Such a beautiful scene, so sad, so powerful.
I love this movie dearly...watched it over and over with my father and cried with him. Superb ending..
I always cry when I see this scene, but at the same time it makes me angry to see poor Jim so traumatized by the war, the hunger, the suffering and the parents so perfectly dressed and groomed as if nothing had happened.
Not their fault. They probably just got evacuated and taken to somewhere where the bombs didn't fall. And with them being rich and safe it makes sense for them to look unscathed.
They probably wanted to look presentable when being reunited with their son.
@@romanov3937 I agree, it's best to show up looking exactly how they always looked. If you want your kid to recognize you in public, then you should definitely make sure you are as recognizable as possible...and if you were recognizably wealthy & well off before, then you will show up still looking recognizably well off.
I know that if I ran that lost & found orphanage, I'd tell everyone to arrive looking like how they always looked in front of their kid: Present themselves to the children in identical fashion to how they present in their child's own memory of them. (Same outfit/attire as always, same make up, same hair color, length & style, etc.) (Smells are great at jogging memories too, so if they have any kind of expensive perfume they used to wear, definitely put on lots of that as well!)
(Side Bonus: Dressing up all fancy would also help the parents stand out from all the other attending adults who can't afford to dress up super nice.)
Terrific actor. Unbelievable he was at such a young age... As he his right now! You gotta love his performances. What a master!
Still the only THE ONLY movie clip, I can cry on.
Try The Color Purple. If you can keep your eyes dry in the end, and when the sisters got separated....wow. well, I'm glad it makes me cry every time I see it
There is a scene in the tv movie Entrusted where the boy runs up to his mother in a car and suddenly the car explodes due to gunfire in the middle of his trek....gets me everytime too.
An amazing movie. This and Goodnight Mr Tom always breaks my heart. Brilliant young actors.
The scene where the boy is found in the closet cuddling with his now deceased sister....always gets me.
@jefffoster3557 oh yes,it was heartbreaking.
This one scene proves he could act. The scene always chokes me up.
This scene always makes me cry. Such a good movie.
This movie came out in the same year as The Last Emperor, which swept the Oscars, and undeservedly, in my opinion. Empire of the Sun was a better film in every way. But at the time, it was "cool" to not like Spielberg.
Exactly, remember The Color Purple? 11 times nominated at the Oscars, not 1 award. Shameful if you ask me.
Both movies are very good
The Last Emperor was a magnificent film and deserved all of its accolades. I love Empire of the Sun, too but I don't see the need to detract from one film in order to praise another.
Or the Last Emperor was just a better film
The dad didn't even recgonize him and just walked pass him.
:(
typical for Spielberg
he was doing the typical "boy look"
He was separated from his parent for over two years. He’s not going to look the same nor after two years will you recognize someone immediately. You’d be surprised how easily we forget what people look like. Especially children who grow and change quickly. He didn’t even recognize his own parents until his mom called out his name several times. This is what war will do to you.
Papaa will be papas. Moms will be Moms :3.
I was a little kid when I saw this movie, it was always in my memories, today having two boys, this scene has another meaning, I can imagine the terrible pain of that parents, losing their children for years. Mother's love is Mother's love. ❤
I feel the same as a parent now. I knew it was powerful when I was a kid first watching it, but now, with my own kids, I think this is a beautiful expression of a mothers love especially. The dad is restrained, but clearly concerned. The mother just wants to hold her baby again. Any loving parent will feel the raw emotion of this scene.
Bales level of acting in this film surpasses all adult acting I have ever seen. It’s quite simply one of the greatest performances ever. And it’s Spielbergs best work ever.
People don’t know about it because it’s not something many cared about - the far east during World War Two and specifically the British colonies.
I’ve never seen the movie but I’m sobbing my eyes out over this scene!
I miss my mom
truly spoken......
i miss her to
lets keep going with the right side of the force though
Most people do. It must be terrible for those that were abused or had a bad relationship with their Mother. I can't imagine how difficult that is to live with.
Christian Bale giving more than a hint that he was and is a generational acting talent. Incredible performance.
The pain bale showed. He showed how experience made the boy old beyond his years. He is a great actor
An emotional rollercoaster of a movie...the acting on a whole other level!
The word brilliant just doesn't seem adequate.
Visually stunning as well.
This ending scene...the horrors we know he has witnessed...
the look on his face when he sees his Mother...
not believing she is real until he touches her...
his eyes closing the moment he rests his head against her...
it's all real...he's safe now!
…if this doesn’t punch you in the heart, nothing will… what a scene, what a movie…
He had been through so much since he saw them. He was the same, yet so different. It's a great story and movie.
This scene always gets me.
Do we truly realize what a genius Spielberg is ?
Hands down one of the best endings in a movie for me! As a parent I can't begin to imagine where I would start to rebuild with my son after an ordeal like this!
1:44 minutes of magically powerful acting with little or no dialogue. I’m hooked.
What a movie ,I wish more people see it ,and how he can sing 😢he is truly blessed .😅
I loved this film. I remember going to the theater to see it.
Look at this. This is acting at its finest from a little boy who grew up to be the best actor of his generation. Christian Bale is a genious.
I remember watching this film numerous times as a kid with my mum. For some reason the music randomly popped into my head so youtubed the final scene which has now resulted in tears
I always cry...amazing film.
This film did not use to hit me in the gut, but it has now, this ending, when he is reunited with his parents again, i guess everything we have all stuffed in the last 12 months, got to me a little.
One of the best movies ive ever seen
Gets me every time. Great film.
Amazingly well acted scene on all sides. So believable and impactful with barely a word spoken. I would love to know how this scene came together.
You aren’t human if you are dry eyed at this. Fantastic performance
Many "masterpieces" don't even come close to this movie.
Jim got the happy ending he deserved.
I got a headcanon post-ending for this, as an adult, Jim dedicates himself to help the less fortunate and victims of war, so that what happens to him, will not happen to anyone else.
If you read the book, Jamie and his mom sailed back to England.
I am a pilot. ive been flying since i was about 12. in the scene where we hugs the Japanese aircraft. it gets me because i did the same thing when i was a kid. i love aviation so much. that scene got me to the core. Thank you, Mr. Spielberg!
Such an amazing film!
Every time it turns up, I have to watch it.
Watched this film several times years ago, recently read the book and I have to say the film is much better than the book....Once again well done Steven Speilsberg
Yeah, one of the greatest endings of all time!
BALE = G.O.A.T.
The close up of Jim’s eyes closing were as Spielberg described as “the eyes of an old man.” Even though he’s reunited with his family, he won’t remain with them for long.
Just like Flyora.
This was the best child acting I had ever seen.
I was born in 83. I remember this came on TV, would’ve been around 1990. Had no idea what it was but was transfixed to the telly for the entire duration. Being only 6 or 7 years old, this was undoubtedly the first real, proper film I ever watched. I haven’t seen it since I was a teenager in the late nineties or very early 2000s, and to be honest it’ll stay that way. Rather just have the memory watching it as a kid. Wouldn’t be the same if I sat & watched it today, nothing is.
This ending is so sad and powerful, not seeing your parent's for 4 years 😢 thinking there dead from the war.
actually war in china starts in 1937, so its 8 years
Best portrayal of childhood wartime PTSD since "Come and See." Kid ages 40 years in a few days.
Even when I was a child this movie was epic to me!
I just watched this movie for first time, it was touching and I ended up crying 😢
I miss my mother….
I saw this again 2 months ago and I just cried at the ending. I rarely get emotional but this scene just hit me hard. It's still a brilliant movie and Christian Bale is one of my favourite actors.
One of the best movies ever made. Christian Bale and John Malkovich were perfect together.
Crazy how a Spielberg film, one of his better ones at that and one that featured someone as popular as Christian Bale, became so underrated.
Spielberg’s masterpiece.